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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1002

The Man with the Rubber Head

19013 minFrance
ComedyFantasy

Synopsis

An experimenter places a living copy of his own head on a laboratory table and inflates it with a pair of bellows. The demonstration works until his assistant takes over and pushes the experiment too far. Méliès turns a scientific-looking procedure into a visual joke about vanity and overconfidence.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
2:29
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Georges Méliès · Public domain

This copy runs shorter than the reference runtime. Editing and playback speed can differ between editions.

Cast

DirectorsGeorges Méliès

Behind the scenes

The expanding head was created by combining exposures and moving Méliès toward a stationary camera on a specially arranged ramp. The changing scale was carefully staged before the finished images were brought together.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 15, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

  • Georges Méliès — Georges Méliès; Publicity materials for an exhibition at La Caixa Foundation: http://press.lacaixa.es/socialprojects/exhibiton-georges-melies-magic-of-cinema-caixaforum-barcelona-eng__816-c-17952__.html · Public domain

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